Monday, July 21, 2008

Camping, Swimming and Goofing Around



When I was a kid, we camped for almost all of our vacations. Didn't everyone camp? I thought so. Many of our family's friends camped and we traveled together for many years to set up our tents for a week in Florida. My parents "had it down" even building a large, wooden camp box, which they painted pea-green. The sides folded down to reveal dozens of cubby holes all carefully packed with the essentials. The box stood on legs and with the flaps down provided "counter" space. As long as I can remember, my family also owned a boat, so we camped by the water. I have wonderful memories from this time.

My husband and I have wanted to share the camping experience with our boys, so when we heard a family reunion was being planned at a lake, camping came to mind. The departure day arrived and we began to pack and pack...and pack...and PACK...AND PACK! Clearly we do not "have it down".




We were forced to do some unpacking, so we could fit the kids into the car. Jeez, you need a lot of stuff to camp...at least we thought so!



All that packing was forgotten when we found our campsite.




Ahhh...the water. We sat at the water's edge and enjoyed the view, while the kids explored.




Get a look at this table! Stone posts also line the top edge of the damn on either side of the road. Some campsites had stone fireplaces with cooking grills. Several of the camp areas have old concrete pads with a raised edge...we thought old cabin foundations. No, they once would be filled with water in the winter for ice skating!



This is the...,you guessed it, the potty hole. I kept thinking Civil War-era jail and left the door open just in case.

I neglected to take a photo of the fully assembled campsite, so please conjure your own imagine. It will be better than the real thing. Friday night, Bart's cousins, Rick and Susie, and Jim and Jenni joined us for storytelling around the campfire. Jared, Rick and Susie's son, helped our boys fish and make s'mores. We were all shocked to learn that what seemed like a half an hour had stretched to nearly midnight.

Saturday morning we hit the swimming beach for some surfing,...




jumping and...


Super Hero flying.

Saturday afternoon was the family reunion and Sunday was exploring and boating...more on that later.




This sun-soaked guy, like the rest of us, was sad to leave the lake but ready to be home.

1 comment:

Nancy said...

Hope y'all never had to back up that vehicle! No way you could see. Glad it was a successful camping trip. We need to plan a "group" trip soon. The last one we did was so much fun.